Expenses accused peer told 'you'd be crazy not to claim for second home'

A former Tory peer accused of falsely claiming £11,000 in expenses denied his actions were dishonest and claimed he acted in "good faith".

Lord Taylor of Warwick, 58, said the practice was to claim the "maximum" amount as the expenses culture in the House of Lords was seen as in "lieu of salary" as Lords did not get paid.

The former barrister, who became the first black peer when he joined the House of Lords in 1996, said he was told he would be "crazy" not to designate a second address outside of London to ensure he would be able to claim even more on travel and overnight stays.

Lord Taylor named his nephew's house in Oxford as his main home between 2006 and 2007 to claim 11,000 in allowances, despite never spending a night there and having no financial connection to the property.

In fact the father-of-three lived in Ealing, west London, throughout the time of the claims and should not under the rules have been entitled to them.

Giving evidence yesterday, he told a jury at Southwark Crown Court: "Never for a moment did I think the Lords were doing anything wrong because they just weren't that type."

Asked by Mohammed Khamisa QC, defending, if there was ever anything secretive about the practice, he replied: "No, never."

He said: "When I first joined the House of Lords I saw it was a place for the retired and the rich.

"It was seen as in lieu of salary because there was no realistic prospect, because of the image of the House of Lords, of Lord's being paid.

"The practice was to claim the maximum because the reality is in terms of expenditure you were spending far more than you were able to claim back."

He said although the majority of Lords were "committed to public service" even billionaire peers claimed the maximum allowances.

Asked if the Lords thought there was anything wrong or dishonest about this, Lord Taylor replied: "No, because the reality was we were actually making a loss each time. We weren't making a profit."

Lord Taylor, who previously earned 100,000 a year as a criminal barrister and later a broadcaster, said fellow peer Lord Colwyn was one of several peers who told him what he was doing was acceptable.

Asked by Mr Khamisa if Lord Colwyn was the one who told him to nominate a second address outside London, he said: "Yes he did.

"I remember the words he used because they stuck in my memory, he said 'you'd be crazy not to'."

Mr Khasmisa asked: "Did you follow his advice?"

Lord Taylor said he did because he was a "senior peer" who almost became like a father figure to him during his time in the House of Lords.

Asked if he thought he was doing anything wrong or dishonest, Lord Taylor replied: "No. It's not worth it, to lose your reputation. They were made in good faith."

The trial continues.'Too trusting'

The first person to give evidence for the defence at Lord Taylor's trial was Harvey Thomas, who was press and public relations director for ex-prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

Mr Thomas was introduced to Lord Taylor when he was an unsuccessful Tory candidate in the 1992 general election.

When asked by Mohammed Khamisa QC, defending, how he would describe Lord Taylor, he replied: "He was possibly a little too trusting. If I would call and say something, I wouldn't expect him to question it at all."